Nothing Special
by shelbyml
Summary: AU. To the town, Dean Winchester is a college dropout who works for the local drunk and is also the oldest son of a drunk. When in reality he has a little brother, Sam, he would do anything for, even give up his dreams. When Sam's history teacher is worried about Sam's grades declining, Dean gets a whole new perspective on life.
1. Chapter 1

Nothing Special. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **I promise this is a destiel au. It will progress, just bear with me. I don't own Supernatural or any of the characters in Supernatural.

The heat of the day was starting to seep into the garage of B. Singer's Auto shop as Dean finished off a simple oil change. He could never understand why people paid someone else to do a 15 minute job, but he wasn't complaining. The people in this town and their entire lack of car knowledge kept food on the table, and Sammy in his fancy private school in the city. Dean looked at his watch, and saw that he had some time before he had to pick up his younger brother from school.

In the furthest back shed on the Auto shop's property was where Dean kept his supplies and current projects. He picked up his welding mask, and began to work on an iron griffon statue he was welding together. Before Dean was forced to start working more than 40 hours a week, his dad was alive, and he was still getting his art degree. There was nothing Dean enjoyed doing more than creating. Sometimes his pieces turned out terrible, and he threw them out, even though Sam would always pick them out of the trash and store the away, but in the past, he had actually sold large statues, like the one he was currently working on, for six hundred dollars. Dean hoped that some wealthy old guy would by his current project when he finished it.

Time passed by quicker than Dean had planned, and when he looked at his watch again, he saw that he was 30 minutes late for leaving. 'Shit.' Dean hated making Sam wait outside on the steps of his school while his friends all drove away on cars their parents paid for. Sam was disappointed when he didn't get a car for his sixteenth birthday, and he was even more disappointed when he didn't get one for his seventeenth birthday. It wasn't for a lack of trying on Dean's part. He tried to everything he could, but money was always an issue. So the brother's had to share an old pickup truck that Dean bought when he was sixteen. It ran like new though, Dean always made sure of that. He wasn't going let his brother's only form of transportation be a piece of shit.

With Dean speeding, it only left him 20 minutes late in picking up Sam. He found him on a bench with his best bitch face on. "Hey, man, look I'm sorry."

"I don't really want to hear it, Dean." Sam hadn't even looked up when Dean approached him. "You have no idea how embarrassing it is sitting here like a child waiting for their parents to pick them up."

"Sammy, I know it's hard, but I'm really trying." Dean felt ashamed that he couldn't give the kid more. Sam was graduating this next May, and he was heading off to college somewhere, there had to more Dean could do.

"Dean you've been trying for two years, no you've been trying since Dad died, but you've gotten nowhere." Sam finally looked Dean in the eyes while they walked back to the truck. His eyes were full of anger. Dean huffed as he got into the truck. The drive back home seemed longer than usual that day.

The next few days at work had been particularly hard on Dean. His guilt was a distraction, and he wasn't moving as fast as he normally was. Customers were getting frustrated and Bobby was in no mood to deal with Dean and his personal problems. Bobby had no issue telling Dean how much like his dad, John, he was becoming. So like every other problem Dean ever had, he sucked it up, ad ignored it. That was the way his dad taught him to deal with personal problems. If you couldn't punch it, you had to ignore it. It was the only way he knew how to deal with anything.

When Thursday approached, he couldn't have been happier to have a day off. Sam was going to spend the night with friends, so Dean decided to go out to the Roadhouse. It was a local bar that a few family friends ran. Ellen, the barkeep, was the wife of one of John's friends, was happy to greet Dean when he sat down at the bar.

"Hey, hotshot, your regular poison?" Jo, Ellen's daughter was the bartender tonight.

"Uh, yeah. El Sol." Dean nodded a greeting at the cute blonde. Normally he would be flirting up a storm with most women at her level of attractiveness, but he had known her way too long to think of her as anything more than a sister. When his beer was in front of him, he made no attempt to conserve it. With long gulps, he scanned the bar. As usual, it was just a bunch of hicks. He hated living in such a small town, but he couldn't afford to live anywhere else. For the past few days, all he could think about was how he was nothing special. He could barely provide the essentials for the last member of his family, and he was starting to hate the garage.

"Hey," Dean heard a sweet voice from his other side. When he swiveled around he saw a cute brunette sitting next to him.

"Oh hey," Dean responded, absent mindedly.

"I'm Lisa." The girl held out her hand, while a cocktail was in the other, she obviously didn't belong in the Roadhouse. Dean tried not to over analyze the situation and took her hand.

"I've never seen you here before, Lisa. I'm Dean." Smalltalk. Something Dean hadn't done since he dropped out of college. His social skills seemed a bit rusty, but the girl didn't seem deterred.

"I just moved here. I opened up a yoga studio down the road from here." That explained why a young woman was in a hick bar alone, and seemingly hitting on Dean. For the rest of the night, Dean talked to this new girl, who knew nothing about him and enjoyed his company. Five beers later, he was leaving the bar with her, and the rest of the night was a blur.

Dean's head was spinning, where the hell was he? He heard the faint buzz of his phone against the unfamiliar wood floor. Taking a moment to realize that the girl from the night before was still wrapped his naked body; he nearly missed the call.

"Uh, hello?" It was still hard for him to open his eyes.

"Yes, hello, is this Dean Winchester?" The man's voice was deep and rough.

"Yes, this is Dean. Who is this?"

"I am Castiel Novak from Saint Thomas Academy. I am Sam's history teacher and counselor," Dean's mind woke up at the name of Sam's school. Why was Sam's history teacher calling him at 9:30 in the morning? Dean's head came up with question after question before he responded.

"W-what happened? Why are you calling me? Is Sam okay?" Dean was now out of bed and swiftly finding his clothes. Lisa was awake and slightly confused, but when she saw Dean on the phone, she nodded in understanding.

"Dean, I need you to come to the school. The subject is urgent."


	2. Doctor's Note

**Author's Note: **Okay, so we meet Castiel in this chapter. Also! Sam's a little punk. The story is still trying to pick up speed. Think about it as a novel, the first few chapter's are never super crazy, they are more informative than anything. Chapter 3 should be a good one though. Please know that I do not own Supernatural, or the characters from Supernatural. Please feel free to review or send me suggestions. I always like to hear from my readers.

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The drive to the Sam's school was long. Especially since Dean couldn't stop himself from thinking about all the things that could have happened to his little brother. Dean didn't normally let Sam stay at friend's place during the week, but Sam had convinced him that he was tired and didn't want to wake up as early to go to school. Dean felt like an irresponsible idiot.

With messy hair and wearing the same clothes he wore the night before, Dean arrived at the school. The building was a lot larger than it had to be for the amount of students that attended. Dean tried to flatten his hair as he made his way into the school's main office. "I'm looking for Castiel Novak's office, or classroom. He called me about my brother this morning. I'm Dean. Dean Winchester. My brother is Sam." The receptionist raised an eyebrow at Dean. He wasn't the typical legal guardian she was used to seeing. Without saying a word to Dean she picked the phone and dialed an extension.

"Hello, Mr. Novak. I have a Dean Winchester here- yes. I will. Thank you." She hung up the phone, clearly surprised that Dean had been telling the truth about his reason for being there. "His office is through that door, the second door on your right." She hadn't even looked him in the eyes. No wonder Sam was always embarrassed. If the students were half as stuck up as the staff, Sam was dealing with a lot of judgment. Dean nodded a thanks, and rushed his way towards the office.

When he got to the door that read 'Novak' Dean took a deep breath to calm down and knocked.

"Come in Dean." The voice was the same one he heard on the phone this morning. Dean opened the door and saw that the office was filled with books. Some were on massive bookshelves that lined the walls, and others were in messy piles with papers everywhere. "Please sit down." Dean looked at the man who was talking, he was small framed, had messy almost black hair, and stunning blue eyes. Although he looked very professional, Castiel Novak had dark circles under his eyes, clearing needing more sleep.

"Sorry it took so long to get here, man. I drove as fast as I could." Dean began to explain that he lived a town over and that he had had a late night the night before, but Castiel just put up his hand to silence him, and pointed to a chair.

"Please sit. I am truly sorry that I woke you this morning. Although, the subject is important and concerning, I do not believe there is any reason you should be panicked, so please relax, and we can discuss this." Castiel's voice was calm and collected. His reassurance made Dean feel a bit better, so he sat down on a large chair that sat in front of the teacher's desk. "Thank you, Dean. I'm glad you got here in such a short time. I am well aware that you and Sam live further than the rest of our students here at Saint Thomas."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, it's just you said it was urgent, so I didn't want to wait just in case… something bad happened." Castiel smiled at him, and Dean felt strange. The teacher's face seemed to de-age five years when he smiled. That's when Dean realized that Sam's history teacher couldn't be much older than himself.

"The reason I called for this meeting was to discuss Sam's grades. This past semester his grades have been declining, and he seems very distracted. I have tried multiple times to talk with him about this, but he has seemed to…" Castiel cleared his throat, "get very upset when I do. As you know, we have very high standards when it comes to GPA's. If his grades in my course keep declining, I will have no choice than to expel him from Saint Thomas." When Dean heard these words his heart dropped. He had been working so hard to meet Sam's tuition needs every semester, and his brother wasn't keeping his grades up. Risking expulsion. Dean got angry.

"Thanks for bring this to my attention. I don't understand why you had me meet you here though. This seems like something you could have told me over the phone." Dean's anger was coming out in his voice.

"Well, I called you in to discuss Sam's home life. I am concerned that this is what is getting in the way of his grades the past few weeks. He seems to get especially angry whenever I bring his family up." Dean's fist curled. This bastard was blaming him for his brother's problems. Of course he was. Damn him.

"Thanks for your concern, Mister Novak, but our family is just the two of us," Dean huffed. "So if there was something wrong, I would know about it."

"That is the thing, Dean, and you can call me Castiel, I'm worried that because it is just the two of you Sam is not getting the type of support he needs." Castiel saw Dean's eyes widen. "Now before you get even more angered, please let me explain. I have studied family dynamics for the past six years, and when one member of the family is spending all their time working, and rightfully so, the other party is left alone too often with their thoughts, wondering what they did to make the working party stay away so much."

"Of course I work too much, Cas… um mister Novak I mean." Dean narrowed his eyes at the well-dressed man, "How else would I be able to afford to send him to this school?"

"I understand, Dean. I really do, but I must ask, why is it that a 21 year old is left to be the legal guardian of his kid brother?" Castiel paid no attention to Dean's glares.

Dean saw no harm in telling the teacher the truth. The courts had deemed him responsible and finically stable enough to take custody of his brother, so why would he need to worry. "Our dad died about three years back. Sam was fourteen, and there was no way I was going to let us be separated. Our mother died when Sam was a baby. We don't have anyone else, besides Bobby, but he's not blood related."

Castiel nodded. "I see. I was not aware of the situation. Since this case is so rare, I believe that there are steps we can take to prevent Sam's failure in my class. He is a brilliant young man with much potential. He has shared interest in going to Stanford to study law. I believe this is well within his capabilities, so I would like to propose a plan to help him succeed." Dean was glad that this Castiel had understood and didn't question the situation further. Perhaps his first instincts were wrong about this man. Dean softened his expression and nodded to the man across from him to keep going. "We need to keep in touch. Communicate about Sam's progress, try to figure out what is causing this distraction. I believe with two people that care about him, he will feel less, lonely." Castiel cleared his throat. "We should have weekly meeting and perhaps exchange phone calls and emails regarding the situation as well. As long as these meetings and checkups happen, I will make sure Sam does not fail my class"

"I don't get on the computer much, but I could do text messages." Dean was relieved that he was going to have some help with Sam. He hadn't known what to do in a long time about him, and it felt like a huge weight was being lifted from his chest. "I usually have Friday's off so that would be a good time to hold these meetings. I think you already have my phone number. I will make sure I always answer your call or text messages. I-I can't tell you how much I appreciate you helping me with Sam. I don't know what I would do if Sam was kicked out of this school. It was the best place for him to get his education. The schools close to our house are terrible, and they don't have college prep programs like this one does."

"I understand, Dean. I will let you tell your brother about these meetings. You also have my number. Please tell me when he knows. Now, I do have class soon, so you are free to go." Dean felt like he was being dismissed by his old professors. Something told Dean that Castiel wasn't used to talking to anyone expect his colleagues and students. He was too awkward for the truth to be any different. Dean knew the feeling. He was so busy, he hardly talked to anyone outside the garage. "Oh and please tell Sam I said I hope he feels better. He will need to bring in a doctor's note though."

Dean was about to leave the office, but he froze with Castiel's last sentence. "What the hell- I mean what are you talking about?"

Castiel cocked his head at Dean. "The receptionist got a call this morning from who we thought was you, saying that Sam would not be in school again today."

"Wait, what? What do you mean again?" Dean could hear his heart beating in his chest.

"He's been out of school since Monday, Dean."


	3. Stupid Rich Jerks

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out, but it's here now! Enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated.

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Chapter 3

"Wait... what?" Dean's heart beat in his throat. "How the fuck does a kid not show up to school for four days and nobody calls his fucking guardian?" Castiel's blue eyes stared at him in shock.

"Dean- uh, someone's been call-" Castiel tried to explain.

"I don't fucking care. After that many days, somebody should have called me." Dean stormed out of the teacher's office. Castiel's jaw dropped; he wasn't used to people yelling at him. _Stupid, rich jerks. _Dean couldn't help but think bad about everyone who ran that school, especially at the moment. As Dean reached the school's office that he came in through, his thoughts were wild with rage. "You." Dean's attention was directed at the receptionist. "You're the girl that takes calls from parents excusing their kids from school, right?"

"Sorry, Ma'am, please hold" She rested the mouthpiece against her shoulder. "That's correct, now if you'll excuse me I'm on an important call."

"Then you know my brother, Sam Winchester, hasn't been to school since Monday?" Dean's voice shook.

"Sir, if you have an issue, you can make a formal complaint by filling out these forms" Without so much as looking at Dean she handed him a stack of white papers. Dean slammed his hand down onto the phone, hanging up her call.

"How's that for a complaint?" The look on the receptionists face would have been laughable if he hadn't been so angry. "Does my voice sound like the voice that called to tell you Sam wouldn't be in? No, I don't think it does. Maybe you should get this shit school together and confirm absences with the person who is in charge of the kid.

"Perhaps that is what they would do at a public school, but here at Saint Thomas we tend to have respectful and honest students, perhaps with the exception of your brother. This will be noted and brought to the attention of the headmaster, including your outburst." The woman's know-it-all voice made Dean want to smack her, but of course he didn't make habit of hitting people anymore.

"Aw fuck off. It's not my shitty rules that make it possible for a 17 year old kid go missing for eight hours a day." He put up his middle finger, "Sit on it."

As Dean stormed out, he vaguely heard the woman call for security. Where could have Sam had gone? What the hell compelled the kid to lie to him? Dean never gave Sam shit. He let him stay home if he was having a bad mental day whenever he needed. He let the kid pretty much do whatever he wanted as long as he knew where he was and that he was safe. Sam wasn't an idiot. He never took advantage of Dean, and it was hard for Dean to wrap his head around this act of stupidity from his brother.

Once Dean was back inside his truck, his head began to clear from the rage he was feeling. He sighed, trying to think of any reason Sam would skip school. It wasn't like his little brother. Where did he fuck up? Was it because he hadn't bought the kid a car yet? No way, even though he had been being a little bitch lately, Sam wasn't that shallow. With his head in his hands, Dean waited in the car. Sam knew he was picking him up today, so he'd have to show up at some point in time.

When Dean's phone buzzed in the seat next to him, he realized he had two unread text messages.

_**Dean, please let me know if you find Sam. The way you stormed out made me worry. Thank you for coming in today however. My best. Castiel Novak **_

_**Hey dean, i no u left in a hurry this morning but i was wondering if u wanted to do sumthing w/me later this wk? lmk Lisa33 **_

After Dean read the messages on his phone, he didn't have time to reply because as soon as he looked up he saw a familiar looking kid and a not so familiar girl hanging off his arm. Dean's anger swelled in his chest once again. _That fucker._ In the roaring truck, Dean pulled up behind the two kids. "Hey there, Sammy! School must have gotten out early today, huh? It's just kind of strange 'cause I don't think the other kids know. They are all still in class." Dean laughed at the look on Sam's face. It was red with embarrassment. Once Dean was done talking, he winked at the girl Sam was with, and motioned for Sam to get into the truck. When Sam finally climbed into the passenger seat, he didn't say anything to Dean or the girl, so Dean drove off. If Dean thought the drive home the other day was painfully silent, this drive home was the kind of silent that drove people man, so he played Led Zeppelin too loud the whole way home.

Once the truck was stopped, Sam was out and heading to his room. After Dean shut off the truck and climbed out. He had no idea what he was going to do about the kid. He was getting way too damn moody for his liking. Once in the house, Dean went straight to the fridge for a beer. When he got comfortable on the couch, he opened his and decided that he should probably text Castiel and Lisa back while he waited for Sam to stop throwing a bitch fit.

_**Hey Mr. Novak, found Sam. He was walking back to school with some creepy looking chick. Never seen her before, and he hasn't talked to me yet. I'll let you know when we can start those weekly meetings. Dean. **_

_**Lisa, I've got some shit going on right now. I'll let you know when I have time. Sorry. D **_

Dean finished down the last of his beer when he finished texting. Being a parent was hard. There was no way he knew how to deal with this reasonably. He tried to think back to when his dad was still around. The old man was great before his mom died. He played catch, and walked around everywhere with him on his shoulders. But after his mom died, John spent way too much time at different bars, with different women. He wasn't there when Dean had his first kiss or even when he got laid for the first time. Dean had gone through his rebel stage when he was younger than Sam, but he quickly grew out of it when he realized Sam needed him to straighten out. And when John died, it seemed like things just got worse. He felt much other than 21. He felt more like 40, except with much less experience under his belt. The phone buzzed on the sofa next to him. Two messages from Castiel flash on the screen.

_**Thank you for the update. Teenagers are known to let their hormones think for them. Stay calm, Dean. You're a good guardian. I'll be alright. CN**_

_**And Dean, please call me Castiel. Not Mr. Novak. CN **_

He did not understand why a teacher would be this concerned with one of his students. None of his teachers in high school or college ever cared that much about him. Then again, he probably never showed as much potential as Sam.

_**Thanks for checking up. And yeah, hopefully it will all work out. Have a great night, Castiel. DW**_

Dean wasn't sure what else to say to Castiel, even though he felt the urge to keep texting the teacher, so he decided to end the conversation with a goodnight. When his phone buzzed again, he was disappointed when the ID didn't read 'Castiel Novak', but instead Lisa's name showed up.

_**oh, okay u no its fine if u dont u dont have 2 lie. L**_

Dean sighed. _Great. _This was exactly what he needed. A girl to make him feel bad for having shit going on his in life that didn't involve her.

_**Seriously Lisa, that's not the case. I'll get to you when I can. D **_

After Dean pressed send, he heard Sam's door open. He threw his phone to the side and took out another beer from the fridge. When he heard the creaking of the floorboards in the living room, Dean turned to see his little brother standing in the archway. Sam's head was low and his hands were in his pockets.

"Hey Sammy, come over here, kid?" Dean scooted over making room for the oversized kid. "We need to talk." Sam obeyed Dean and took the seat next to him.

"Man, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't do crap like that-" Sam began his explanations, but Dean stopped him feeling more angry than he intended to during their conversation.

"Sam, you seriously can't do shit like this. Do you realize how much I have to do to put you through that fucking school? Sam, I work six to seven days a week and most days I put in 12 hours a day. Not to fucking mention all the damn gas that it takes to get you to the next town and pick you up 8 hours later. Jesus Christ, Sammy, you can't do this. Not just for you, but for me too." Dean let his chest rise and fall in silence. He felt bad for being so hard to the kid, but his brother had been being a douchebag lately.

"Dean, you really don't understand. I want to spend time with Ruby. It's almost like, like I need to be around her to feel whole." Sam's voice was panicked, and he wasn't the only one panicked. Dean was freaked out, his little brother sounded obsessed.

"Dude, that's totally not health. How did you even meet this chick?" Dean's eyes were wide and his concern for his brother grew as Sam told the story about how when Dean was late for picking him up one day and met Ruby at the park. Apparently the creepy girl went to some public school near Sam's school. Not matter how Sam tried to explain his passion for the girl, Dean couldn't understand.

"Alright, alright, man. You have a girl, that's cool, congrats. I get it. It's easy to get caught up with wanting to be around with them. But you can't miss school and you need to stop acting like such a little bitch." Sam nodded, but Dean could tell he was just agree with him to get back to his room, so he go back to probably talking to Ruby.

After Dean's failed lecture, his attention went back to his phone. _Three unread messages. I'm popular tonight. _

_**No, thank you Dean. If you need anything do not hesitate to text me or call me anytime. CN**_

_**And thank you for calling me Castiel. CN**_

_**sorry dean-o text me whenever 33 L**_

Dean was way too tired to deal with the odd situation with the history teacher or the seemed to be crazy woman he had slept with. He cleaned his bottles up, made three sandwiches. He ate one while he put two into the fridge for Sam whenever he decided he was hungry. After he was done with his own sandwich, he decided to go to sleep since he had a double shift to work at the garage the next day.


End file.
